ICHNEUMON. 279i 
of Lilinasiis, one of the smallest of the whole tribe; 
it is of a black colour, with rufous legs, and long 
filiform antennae. 
Other Ichneumons are of very considerable size, 
and the females of these select some large cater- 
pillar for their victim, as those of the larger 
Sphinges, such as the S. Ligustri, Convolvuli, &c. 
or one of the large and middle-sized Moths, as 
the Phalaena Vinula, Quercus, &c. &€. These 
large Ichneumons are generally bred in small 
numbers, and sometimes the female deposits but 
a single egg in the selected caterpillar. This 
may be instanced in the Ichneumon ramidulusj 
the larva of which is thus bred in the caterpillar 
of the Sphinx Ligustri: it is a very large Ichneu- 
mon, of a dull yellowish colour, with a cast of 
brown on the thorax, and with the antennas and 
abdomen tipped with black: the abdomen is also 
of a falciform shape, curving downw^ards, and 
compressed on the sides, Ichn : luteiis is a large 
species, nearly allied to the former, and of similar 
nianners. 
The seeming severity of the process ordained 
by Nature for giving birth to the genus Ichneu- 
mon, may be much diminished by supposing, 
(what all the ensuing phasnoinena seem to imply), 
that, after the first operation of piercing the skin 
and depositing the eggs is performed by the female 
Ichneumon, the caterpillar feels no acute pain; 
the included enemies feeding only on its juices, 
and evidently sparing the more important organs; 
so that it loses its life by a very gradual decay. 
